Mike "Little Man" Sica was a beloved figure within Atlantic City card rooms - and indeed, throughout the entire poker world. Serving as a mentor on and off the felt, Sica helped to support in the development of many East Coast poker pros, including Will "The Thrill Faila," Michael Marder, Mike Dentale, Anthony Zinno, Michael Borovetz, and during the ceremony held in his honor back in January, each man took the stage to eulogize their friend.
Passing through the tournament floor recently, we caught up with Joe Debonis as he was counting up his massive stack - which held around 120,000 at the time. Debonis was Sica's nephew and he took the time to tell us a little more about the man who changed so many lives in the poker community during his career. Debonis' affection and admiration for his departed uncle was evident in his every word, and now that he has a big stack to work with, he will no doubt be looking to take this tourney down in honor of the "Little Man" so many local players knew and loved.
We apologize for the lack of updates in the last 30 minutes or so, but we were escorting the PokerNews photographer around the Signature Room in search of the perfect shot.
With his camera now loaded with amazing images, stay tuned for a photo collage from the Seniors event, as well as the regularly scheduled updates you know and love.
We heard a jubilant shout of celebration and the sound of a man clapping with excitement, and after heading over to sneak a peek at the scene, it turned out Steve Blixt had just binked on the river.
Blixt had committed much of his stack with preflop and flop wagers, and when an opponent shoved all in on the board, he called off his last 8,000 or so with .
Trailing badly against , Blixt stood to sweat the river card, and when fifth street brought a tournament-saving to the board, the aforementioned celebration began.
Moments after folding face up to a strong reraise, an unfortunate player became attached to the lowly - ending his tournament in the process.
Frank Ingardia is glad he did, as he was the recipient of a 20,000-chip gift. Here's what we saw:
After Ingardia and another player limped in the pot, the man holding rages raised the action to 2,400. Ingardia came along for the ride, as did the other limper, and the flop fell .
Having paired his six, the doomed player watched Ingardia and the third combatant knuckle the felt, and suddenly his last 20,000 chips were shoved forward. Ingardia was more than happy to snap the bet off with his , while the other player in the pot got out of the way, and with his man drawing dead, Ingardia watched the turn and river brick off to send the sizable pot his way.
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Any time a tournament is held with a special restriction (such as this Seniors event, or the Ladies event being held in the same room), there will always be players who push their luck.
In this case, Dimitriy Khavko has decided to play in the Seniors event, despite not appearing a day over 30 years old.
Khavko recently tangled with James Woods, with the actor and poker enthusiast scoring a fortunate double when he made Broadway on the river. Woods had brought big slick to battle with his , and he was racing against Khavko's .
The board ran clean for the young Khavko through the turn, coming , but just as Woods was standing to make his exit, the river brought the to the table to complete his straight.
Woods fortune was short-lived though, and soon afterward he strode briskly toward the exit while remarking that his opponent had only called him down after a third player in the hand showed his cards.
![[user253757]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
board, he called off his last 8,000 or so with 
.
, Blixt stood to sweat the river card, and when fifth street brought a tournament-saving 
to the board, the aforementioned celebration began.
- ending his tournament in the process.
.
, while the other player in the pot got out of the way, and with his man drawing dead, Ingardia watched the turn and river brick off to send the sizable pot his way.
, and he was racing against Khavko's 
.
, but just as Woods was standing to make his exit, the river brought the 